Posts Tagged ‘
blood pressure ’

Chicago School Closings: District Plans To Shutter 54 Schools
Citing budget concerns and falling enrollment, Chicago Public Schools officials announced Thursday they plan to close 54 schools next year and shut down 61 school buildings — the largest single wave of school closures in U.S. history. (via Huffington Post)

Camera Found In Maryland High School Bathroom Was Put There By Anne Arundel County Police Officer, Say Officials
An Anne Arundel County police officer has been placed on administrative leave after an investigation indicated he placed a camera in a boys bathroom at Glen Burnie High School, police said Thursday. (via Huffington Post)

Misregulated Genes May Have Big Autism Role
A new study finds that two genes individually associated with rare autism-related disorders are also jointly linked to more general forms of autism. The finding suggests a new genetic pathway to investigate in general autism research. (via Science Daily)

Antibiotics Not Worth Risk in Most Chest Colds: Study
Doctors need to give antibiotics to more than 12,000 people with acute respiratory infections to prevent just one of them from being hospitalized with pneumonia, according to a new study. (via Reuters)

Toddler Meals Have Too Much Salt, CDC Reports
Most ready-to-eat meals for toddlers have too much salt, government researchers say. (via Fox News)

Transgender Mississippi Student ‘Leah’ Supported by High School While StudentsProtest
Students at a Batesville, Miss. high school are protesting because they believe that a transgender classmate is receiving “special treatment.” As WLOX 13 reports, over 30 students at South Panola High School have vocalized their opposition to a transgender girl identified only as Leah, who has been allowed to wear female clothing. (via Huffington Post)

Zero Degrees? Time for Baby’s Outdoor Nap
American parents may think they’ve got the naptime drill down, ensuring that their infant is on her back with no loose covers or pillows, possibly in a sleep sack if it’s chilly. But Nordic parents add one element to the mix: fresh air, even in winter. (via Fox News)

BPA Exposure Linked to Asthma in Kids
The list of adverse health effects from BPA exposure continues to grow. Bisphenol A, or BPA, is commonly used to line food and beverage cans, and helps to keep plastics flexible, but studies suggest the compound can leach into the foods we eat. (via TIME)

No Clear Benefits for Kids’ Blood Pressure Checks
There’s no evidence that checking kids’ and teens’ blood pressure – and treating them if it’s high – can reduce their heart risks in adulthood, according to a new analysis. (via Reuters)

Eating Junk Food While Pregnant May Make Your Child a Junk Food Addict
Here’s another reason why a healthy diet during pregnancy is critical to the future health of your children: New research published in the March 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, suggests that pregnant mothers who consume junk food actually cause changes in the development of the opioid signaling pathway in the brains of their unborn children. (via Science Daily)

Action Video Games Boost Reading Skills of Children with Dyslexia Study Suggests
Much to the chagrin of parents who think their kids should spend less time playing video games and more time studying, time spent playing action video games can actually make dyslexic children read better. (via Science Daily)

Kids on “The Biggest Loser”: Is It Exploitation?
One of the most popular shows on TV, The Biggest Loser, debuted its 14th season on January 6 featuring a new kind of contestant: children. (via Take Part)

Gates Foundation MET Report: Teacher Observation Less Reliable Than Test Scores
A few years ago, Bill Gates decided to learn more about whether a teacher’s effect on student learning could be measured. For the first time, the randomized trial shows that teachers who perform well with one group of students, on average, perform at the same levels with different groups of kids.. (via Huffington Post)

Review Questions Blood Pressure Tests for Kids
Despite long-standing recommendations that doctors check children’s blood pressure at every office visit, a new review of research says there is not enough evidence to support that guideline. (via Reuters)

Record Number of Misconduct Complaints Are Made Against City School Employees
A record number of allegations of wrongdoing against teachers and other Department of Education workers were received last year by the office that investigates misconduct in New York City schools, according to a report released on Tuesday. (via New York Times)

More Health Harms for Children Exposed to BPA
The latest study shows the compound found in plastic and food packaging can put youngsters at risk for future heart disease. (via TIME)

Chicago Faulted on Learning Disabilities
When Rashaan Payne was 2 years old, his pediatrician noticed that he was not talking at the level of most children his age. After autism was diagnosed, Rashaan began receiving speech therapy once a week at his home on the South Side of Chicago, paid for by the federal and state governments. (via New York Times)

Ohio Third Grade Reading Guarantee Law One Semester In: PBS Reports On Progress
Ohio schools are one semester into its first year of the new “Third Grade Reading Guarantee” law, but some 30 percent of students — about 40,000 statewide — are still not reading at grade level. (via Huffington Post)

Healthy School Lunch: America’s Obsession With School Meals
With the passage of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010 and new school lunch requirements from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2011, America’s school menus are healthier than ever – even if kids aren’t always happy about it. (via Huffington Post)

Modern Parenting May Hinder Brain Development, Research Suggests
Social practices and cultural beliefs of modern life are preventing healthy brain and emotional development in children, according to an interdisciplinary body of research presented recently at a symposium at the University of Notre Dame. (via Science Daily)

U.S. Launches Study into Youth Sports Concussions
The U.S. government launched on Monday a sweeping study of rising sports-related concussions among the youth, amid concerns that the injuries may have contributed to the suicides of professional football players. (via Reuters)

Review Questions Blood Pressure Tests for Kids
Despite long-standing recommendations that doctors check children’s blood pressure at every office visit, a new review of research says there is not enough evidence to support that guideline. (via Reuters)

Fussy Infants Exposed to More TV
Although doctors say babies should not watch television, some mothers may use the tube as a way to calm fussy infants, a new study suggests. (via My Health News Daily)

Faster DNA Testing for NICU Babies Means More Accurate Diagnoses
A new genetic test can rapidly screen the DNA of babies in intensive care for about 3,500 diseases. (via Time)

New Child-Proof Spray Bottle Designed to Prevent Chemical Injuries
A new type of spray bottle could prevent thousands of chemical injuries that occur yearly when children get their hands on household cleaners and accidentally spray themselves. (via MyHealthNewsDaily)

Mom’s Blood Pressure May Affect Baby’s IQ
Hypertension isn’t just risky for a pregnant woman, as it can also have lasting consequences for a child’s cognitive ability, a new study suggests. (via CNN)

Do Exercise Programs Help Children Stay Fit?
A new review of the outcomes of a wide range of different physical activity interventions for young people finds that the programs almost never increase overall daily physical activity. (via New York Times)

Common Solvents Tied to Birth Defects
Pregnant women with frequent exposure to solvents at work may be at higher risk of having babies with birth defects, French researchers have found. (via Reuters)

‘Mom Gene’ Discovered in Mice
Is there such a thing as a “mom gene”? A new study of female mice shows that there might be a genetic link to nurturing traits. But the maternal instinct in humans may be much more complicated. (via TODAY)

High-Tech Tools Created to Study Autism
Researchers have developed two new technological tools that automatically measure relevant behaviors of children, and promise to have significant impact on the understanding of behavioral disorders such as autism. (via Science Daily)

Kids’ Prescriptions Often Going Unfilled
A large share of medication prescriptions to children on Medicaid may go unfilled, a new study suggests. (via Reuters)

Minority Children at a Higher Risk for Weight Problems in Both the US and England
A new study explores the ties between childhood weight problems, socioeconomic status, and nationality and finds that race, ethnicity, and immigrant status are risk factors for weight problems among children in the US and England. (via Science Daily)

Pregnancy Snoring Linked to High Blood Pressure
Snoring that begins during pregnancy may be a sign of breathing problems that put women at risk for high blood pressure, a potentially serious complication for the mother and baby, a new study says. (via MyHealthNewsDaily)

Sharp Increase in Hospitalizations for Children With Hypertension
The number of hospitalizations for children with high blood pressure more than doubled from 1997 to 2006, according to a new study in the American Heart Association journal, Hypertension. (via CNN)

American Children, Now Struggling to Adjust to Life in Mexico
The English-speaking children of Mexicans returning because of deportations, tougher state laws and unemployment struggle to adjust, often going to schools that are not equipped to integrate them. (via NY Times)

Mayors Back Parents Seizing Control of Schools
Hundreds of mayors from across the United States this weekend called for new laws letting parents seize control of low-performing public schools and fire the teachers, oust the administrators or turn the schools over to private management. (via Reuters)

Taliban Block Vaccinations In Pakistan
The ban, in the North Waziristan region, came days before 161,000 children were to be vaccinated and was linked to fears the campaign would be a cover for American espionage. (via NY Times)

Single Hormone Shot Can Replace Daily Doses in IVF: Study
Women preparing for fertility treatment get a series of daily, sometimes uncomfortable, hormone shots to kick their ovaries into overdrive, but a European review of previous studies suggests that one long-acting shot may work just as well. (via Reuters)

Mom Mistakenly Throws Boy Scout Son’s Life Savings Away
New York mom Dorothy Ferrante thought she was doing a good deed recycling her 12-year-old son’s old computer – until she learned that he’d hidden his life savings of $300 in it. (via The Today Show)

Octuplet Effect: More Choose Single-Embryo Transplants for IVF
The CDC reports that the twin birth rate rose 76 percent from 1980 to 2009 while triples and higher-order multiple births rose a whopping 315 percent. But the tide of multiple births may be ebbing as an increasing number of women are opting to transfer a single embryo during IVF.